


Batman's Wonderful Life

by SioDymph



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DC Extended Universe, DCU, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bisexual Bruce Wayne, Christmas, F/M, Hanukkah, Holidays, It's a Wonderful Life, Joker (DCU) Loves Bruce Wayne, M/M, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-02-24 21:47:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22004974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SioDymph/pseuds/SioDymph
Summary: Bruce begins to wonder if his family, friends and all of Gotham would be better off without Batman. Then suddenly his wish comes true. And he wakes up in a world where he never became the Bat…
Relationships: Joker (DCU)/Bruce Wayne, Selina Kyle/Bruce Wayne
Comments: 17
Kudos: 123





	1. Two Days ‘Til Hanukkah

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! While on break I got this idea for a story and couldn't resist trying to write it! Hope you all enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ((EDIT 3/18/20: I went back to include a little scene with Duke and Damien since I wanted to give them a little more screen time. Hope you like these new little editions!))

To many, Gotham in December was a miserable sight. The skies were permanently overcast, frigid winds swept through the skyscrapers that chilled to the bone, and the only snow was a grey mush that lined the streets.

But to Bruce there was something almost-charming about it all. All the grey and cold made him feel quieter. Calmer. He couldn’t quite explain it. It was sorta like the same feeling he would get while watching a thunder storm roll in, or when he had a headache and finally placed an icepack over his eyes.

It also meant that it was finally time for all the winter holidays to truly begin. While Gotham was a Halloween-City first and foremost the people of Gotham still had a love for all the winter holidays. Even a city as bitter as Gotham needed hope after all. Being raised in a Catholic and Jewish household, Bruce had celebrated both Christmas and Hanukkah as a child. Even when it was just Bruce and Alfred alone in the manor after his parents’ deaths, Alfred did his best to keep both traditions alive for Bruce. And they were traditions Bruce was proud to continue with his own children.

This year, Hanukkah and Christmas were going to be all in the same week. Bruce was hoping that this meant he could have all his kids in the Manor for all of both holidays instead of trying to get them for just one or both.

It was already so perfect in Bruce’s mind.

He and the kids would celebrate the first couple days alone together. Damien, Cassandra, and Duke would be on break for school. He’d be able to talk with Dick, Jason, Tim and Stephanie in person again, see how they and all their teammates were doing. Kate and her girlfriend already promised to be there, and Bruce looked forwards to catching up with his cousin too. Bette, Barabara, Jean-Paul and the Fox family had also been invited to the celebrations.

There was an open invitation for Selina as well. Their relationship had gotten somewhat rocky over the past months. Bruce didn’t know what he did wrong but Selina would keep disappearing for weeks at a time, and when they were together she would be almost dismissive of him. But Bruce hoped that spending a quiet Hanukkah and Christmas together with his family would a good experience for both of them. Something to help put some support back into their on-again-off-again relationship.

Then there was the Wayne Christmas Gala, where Bruce was adamant on getting the aristocrats of Gotham to pull their weight and actually support their city financially. And then of course was Christmas Eve and Day, which he was thrilled to be able to invite his good friend Harvey to, for the first time in years. The man had been recovering from his time as Two Face but had been successfully rehabilitated after four years of therapy and healing. Now he had a job as a consultant for an immigration law firm and Bruce couldn’t be prouder of his friend.

Then finally on the final Night of Hanukkah, Bruce could give out his most precious Hanukkah presents to everyone. He’d gotten a beautiful set of swords custom-made, one for each member of Batman Inc., uniquely forged with their insignias lovingly engraved into each hilt. Not only a useful weapon but an important reminder that they were all one team. One family. And then the day after that was New Years Eve, and Bruce was fine with the kids either hanging out with him or with their own friends. Either way it seemed like a fun way to wrap up over a week of holiday parties. It all seemed to be lining up so perfectly.

Bruce always considered himself a realist and pessimist, but he found himself growing more and more excited for the holidays the closer they came. Just thinking about it all was enough to bring a soft smile to his face. And despite the biting cold weather, Bruce couldn’t help the warm feeling settled in his chest.

And that feeling stayed with him even as he left work for his lunch break. Today he was catching up with Harvey, there was a new vegan place downtown near Gotham’s business sector and Harvey wanted to check it out. Neither of them were actually vegan but Harvey was never against trying new things and neither was Bruce.

He ended up spotting his friend about a street away from the restaurant. Standing outside in the snow, huddled up and waiting for him. Bruce was quick to hurry over.

“How’s it hanging, Harv’?” Bruce said, slapping him on the back. “You know you didn’t have to wait for me out here.”

Harvey grunted and shook his head, clenching his jaw to try and keep it from chattering so loudly. The rough side of his face was wrapped snugly with medical bandages and scarf to try and protect it. That side of his face could be over-sensitive under normal conditions, the cold made it even worse. Trying to shake off the chill Harvey finally managed to reply, “Wanted to make sure you knew where you were going.”

“Oh come on, I know this city like the back of my hand!”

“Says the man who got lost in his own office.” Harvey teased back.

Laughing, the two walked into the restaurant and out of the cold. With it being the lunch rush it was a rather crowded, but eventually the two were seated and waiting on their food. While sitting down Bruce noticed several people looking at Harvey. Some people were openly staring, some were even glowering at him, and Bruce hoped his friend didn’t notice them.

“So how’s the new job?” Bruce found himself asking.

Harvey didn’t answer right away, looking around the room before giving Bruce a strained smile. ”It’s… It’s going ok. For now at least…”

“What’s up?” Bruce gave him a questioning look. “Are people giving you issues at the firm?”

Harvey was quick to defend his firm “Oh no, everyone’s great. Everyone’s respectful. Better then I deserve honestly.”

“Ok, I was worried about that, so what’s the problem?” Bruce asked.

“There isn’t really a problem. It’s just… immigration is really serious stuff. Which is good, I need something I can take seriously. But sometimes it’s really been testing my anger…” Harvey said with some quiet defeat.

“I’m sorry about that, have you talked to anyone else about it?” Bruce felt a little bit of worry settle back into his gut. He wanted to ask about Harvey’s… _other personality_ , but he didn’t want to risk triggering his friend or insulting him so he left his question at that.

“Yeah, my therapist said that it’s normal. I mean it’s my first real job in over half a decade, after being in my situation at Arkham, getting back into the real world hasn’t been the easiest transition…” Harvey seemed to drift off for a moment before coming back, “But like I said, I’ve been working with my therapist. She’s been helping me get this anger under wraps. And once we do that’ll be like my final piece. I’ll finally put my past behind me and move on with my life!”

Harvey sounded so relieved, and Bruce couldn’t help the sadness it brought to him. For years now he’d had to fight his best friend after he lost control of his split personality, Two-Face. But now they were both finally healing. Harvey clearly wanted to be better. But it still hurt Bruce to see his friend have to suffer.

Reaching over, he squeezed his hand over Harvey’s, “I hope you know how proud I am of you man. You’ve come a long way to get here. If you can handle all the craziness this city’s thrown at you already I know you can handle this!”

Harvey looked back at him “You sure sound confident about that.”

“I believe in you, and I always will.”

Harvey’s shoulders relaxed slowly. “You always know what to say, don’t you Bruce…”

“I try.” Bruce replied simply.

For a moment or two they sat in a comfortable silence before their food came. They both ordered squash soups that warmed them to the core and chased that winter chill out of their bones, at least for a little while.

“So how’re the kids?” Harvey pipped up, sipping his soup slowly. He tried to do his best to only eat through the good side of his face without making a mess.

“Kids are alright. Dick and the others will be flying home soon. Damien doesn’t really like this time of year but I know he and Cass are excited to see their big brothers again. Everyone’s been so busy, it’s been a while since any of them have had the time to visit us Gotham...”

“You miss them too, don’t you.” Harvey teased, seeing the wistful look on his friend’s face.

“You know I do.” Bruce replied lightly.

Bruce usually didn’t say it out loud but he missed having all his batkids under one roof. In the past few years the Teen Titans and the Young Justice League were becoming much more serious groups, and along with that came a tighter schedule. Bruce was happy for them all, he was proud of the heroes his children became. But that didn’t mean he didn’t miss them all. At least the Birds of Prey were based in Gotham so Babs and Cass were never far away.

“Ok what about Selina? How’s she been?”

“Selina’s, uh, Selina’s being Selina.”

“Oh?” Harvey said. “What’s going on this time?”

Bruce sighed and looked down at his soup, stirring it a little. “I don’t even know. She’s just been really standoffish lately.”

“How long has she been gone now?”

“I haven’t even seen in like… two and a half weeks?”

“No offence, but I never understood how you guys are a couple.” Harvey said. “She’s seriously been gone for that long? No explanation?”

“She appreciates having her own space.” Bruce said, quickly trying to defend her.

“You know there’s a difference between needing personal space and just plain, not wanting to be in a relationship.” Harvey began. “I thought you said she was supposed to spend the holidays with you.”

“Holidays can be rough for her, families too, but she told me she wanted to try this year with me and the kids.” Bruce said. He knew the idea of huge commitments scared Selina, but he knew they both wanted to make their relationship work. Even if sometimes they both had their own baggage to deal with.

“So you’re just gonna do everything by yourself for the holidays and then wait around for her to come back?”

“Well when you say it like that, you can make anything sound bad.” Bruce huffed.

“And that’s why I was such a good lawyer.” Harvey said with a little laugh.

Bruce couldn’t ignore how Harvey used past-tense, but he didn’t want to bring it up. Despite the somewhat-serious talk Harvey seemed to be in a good mood for once and he didn’t want to blow it.

He was about to respond when he suddenly felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. And pulling it out he found saw a text from none-other than Selina.

**_Sushi tonight??_** 🍣🍸🍙😋😘

Harvey leaned over to see what caught his friend’s attention and frowned when he saw that the last time Selina had texted was in mid-November. “Is she serious?”

Sighing Bruce texted a quick reply and looked back at Harvey. The fact that she was using so many emojis meant she was trying to be funny, and that meant either she was in a good mood or was worried about something but didn’t want him to know. “It’s just her way of breaking the tension.”

“You keep making a million excuses for your partner and you’re gonna start reminding me of Har-, this girl I knew a few years back. No matter how much of a dick her boyfriend was she always defend him.”

Bruce knew exactly who Harvey was talking about. But if he let on that he knew about Harley Quinn than he would also have to explain how he was so familiar with the Former-Doctor-Turned-Villain.

Instead he tried to brush off the comment and move onto a more pleasant conversation, for both their sakes. It was much easier to talk about simple things like choosing decorations and catering for the gala, or picking up groceries and helping Alfred prep for Hanukkah and Christmas. And even though it felt like they both kinda bailed on their other more-uncomfortable conversations, Bruce couldn’t deny that he needed this. And from the calm, easy-going aura that came off Harvey as they talked, Bruce knew his best friend had needed this too…

The rest of his work day went by quickly, and before he knew it Bruce found himself waiting outside Selina’s favorite sushi restaurant. It was a small little shop owned by an older couple, Mrs. and Mr. Tran, that was close to the fishing ports and always had the best cuts of fish in their food. Plus it was the kind of place where the likes of Catwoman and the other Birds of Prey could stop to grab food and nobody would notice or care.

He waited about twenty minutes before stepping into the restaurant and out of the cold, only to find Selina already sitting in a booth waiting for him with two drinks, she must have snuck in through the back. As Bruce walked over Selina gave him an exhausted-looking smile.

“Hey Bruce.”

“Hey,” He replied softly.

Plopping down, Bruce took the seat across from her as Mr. Tran came over to take their orders. “You two getting the usual?”

“You know it!” Bruce replied, adding a Brucie-Wayne-esque wink. He always had fun laying the fake-persona on a little thickly here, mostly because it annoyed Mr. Tran so much.

Mr. Tran for his part just huffed through his nose and shook his head. “Alright three rolls. Spicy Tuna, Negi Hamachi and Philidelphi-”

“Actually can you switch out the Hamachi for a California roll?” Selina said quickly.

Bruce turned to her confused. “But that one’s your favorite.”

“Well I’m not in a super fishy mood.”

Bruce almost wanted to argue back that she was the one who wanted to come to a sushi joint but didn’t want to argue. He’d been hoping that the emojis in her earlier text had been her just trying to be funny, but it seemed like something was on her mind.

As Mr. Tran went back towards the kitchen Bruce tried to stop beating around the bush. “Selina, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit.” Bruce said quickly in a hushed tone. “You look like you haven’t slept in days.”

“That’s kinda calling the kettle black isn’t it?” Selina tried to joke. But when Bruce gave her an unamused look she gave a heavy sigh and fiddled with the straw in her drink. Usually she’d get some sort of cocktail with saké but tonight she was just drinking water.

“Cat?” Bruce tried again.

“Look I’m sorry I went MIA for a little bit. I know I said I was going to stick around, but some stuff came up that I wanted to take care of on my own.”

“What kind of stuff?”

Selina looked at him in a way Bruce couldn’t completely describe.

“You know you can be honest with me.”

“I know…” Selina replied slowly, looking away from him back towards the kitchen where they could hear the Trans talking with one another and laughing about something. “It’s just that holidays like this really aren’t my thing. Big family reunions, big house full of kids. But I know how much it all means to you. Which is why I really want next week to go off without a hitch.”

Bruce nodded. “I want next week to be a good experience for you too. For both of us.”

Selina laughed a little. “I think that’s a lost cause. Cats aren’t the most social creatures after all.”

“People sure do love them though.” Bruce replied gently. “Look, I’m sure you’re worried about next week but I promise no matter what happens everything will be fine. It could be the worst Hanukkah ever and I’d still think it was perfect because… because you’ll be there.”

“That’s a sweet thing to say...” Selina said, getting that weird energy in her voice again.

Before Bruce could try reassuring her more, Mr. and Mrs. Tran came out of the kitchen with their sushi rolls. They ate quietly. And Bruce couldn’t help but notice how Selina hardly touched her food. Even the California roll she ordered. In the end Bruce ended up with a box full of leftovers Selina insisted he take.

Bruce was just about to walk her home, hoping he could try talking to her more about why she was gone for so long, when he felt his phone buzzing again. This time from Oracle.

**_ROBBERY ATTEMPT IN SILICON DISTRICT_ **

**_5 UNSUBS, 12 HOSTAGES_ **

**_NO ROUGE_ ** **_AFFILIATIONS_ **

“Looks like you some work tonight, so I’ll let you get to it.” Selina said, looking over his shoulder to see his phone. Before spinning on her heals and walking away down an alley.

“Will I see you on Sunday?” Bruce asked, hating how earnest his voice sounded before he could stop it.

Selina turned and came back, coming so close he could feel her breath on his neck. Placing her hands on either side of his head, she tugged him down so they were face to face. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

After a light kiss on the lips she let him go and walked back into the alley. Bruce watched her go before leaving himself.

She was right, he had a job to get to.

As he arrived on the scene, Signal and Robin were already there waiting for him.

“Evening, Batman. I was beginning to think Signal and I would be handling this situation on our own.” Robin said. “Though, that would not be an issue for us.”

To an outsider, Robin might have sounded rude. But being his father, Bruce knew this was Damien’s attempts at humor. Lately, the boy has been attempting what he was calling “intelligent quips”. He still had a long way to go but Bruce did his best not to discourage his son’s attempts at trying something new.

“Sorry for the delay boys.” Batman quickly apologized to his sons. “What do you know about the hostage-situation so far?”

Signal shrugged as he replied. “We only have the information Oracle has given me. Though I doubt there’s much more to the story. With no previous history of attacks or any connection to the Rouges, I doubt these criminals will be anything interesting.”

“Let’s hope not,” Batman said with a slight sigh. “I think we have enough enemies already.”

With that, Batman, Signal and Robin got to work.

And while he was always perfectly professional, Bruce couldn’t help but think about how in a few days he and his entire family would get a small break to relax and reconnect. If he could just make it a few more days then everything would be worth it.

At least he hoped so...


	2. One Day ‘Til Hanukkah

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce has a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad night...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Sorry this is such a delayed update! I'm so excited to be working on this story and hope you all enjoy it as well! (Fair warning though, this chapter is where things start to get angsty)
> 
> ((EDIT 3/18/20: I added in some scenes with Cass, Duke and Damien scince I wanted to give them a little more screen time!))

Bruce should have known things would go wrong.

It only made sense.

This sort of thing always happened. He made plans, he’d get this perfect idea in his head, and then all those ideas and plans would fall-through.

He honestly didn’t know why he didn’t see this coming…

It was probably cause the first thing to go wrong was so unexpected.

He was ready for Kate to say she had a change of plans; that something had come up and she wouldn’t be there to celebrate the holidays. Or maybe Barbara or Jason. Or even Duke or Stephanie.

But the first person to back out of Bruce’s plans was no one he ever expected.

It was Dick.

It was probably one of the more awkward calls he’d ever gotten from his eldest son. Dick had tried so hard to sound nonchalant, but Bruce could already tell his son was worried about something. Bruce knew all of Dick’s tells: the jittery little noises he’d make with his teeth, the uncomfortable attempts at laughing.

Bruce’s patience got thin as Dick continued to pretend nothing was wrong, he kept asking about how _Bruce_ was and how _Bruce’s_ day had been.

“Just getting ready for tomorrow.” Bruce said, deciding to keep up the illusion that he couldn’t tell Dick was worried. Though odds were they both knew what the other was doing. “I can’t wait to see you and your brother soon. It’s been so long since you visited last.”

Dick hissed through his teeth. “Yeah, about that…”

Apparently Dick, Tim, Stephanie and the rest of the Young Justice League were halfway across the galaxy. And had been for several weeks now. Bruce had known about that, of course. But what he didn’t know was that they had yet to get back to earth.

Dick continued, trying to defend himself. “I honestly thought we’d be back by now. But some things have come up, the peace treaty between these planets is threatening to break, and now we need to stay out here for a little bit longer to make sure everything stays stable.”

For a moment Bruce felt several thoughts drift through his mind. Questions of why the Young Justice hadn’t contacted the main League about this emergency? Why didn’t he contact Bruce earlier? Why did they have to be out there now of all times? Why were Dick and the rest of his team the only ones capable of fixing the problems of these strangers?

But Bruce bit his tongue before he could ask any of those things. Because deep down he already knew the answer.

He was the one who raised them after all.

He was the one who taught Dick that it was important to put others before oneself. He’s the one that told Stephanie no matter what the cost you must defend the safety and freedom of others. He was the one who taught Tim to never stop fighting and to be prepared for any sacrifice.

So if he yelled at Dick and the others now about not being there for the Hanukkah, then not only would he be a hypocrite, he’d be giving them a double standard. Making it seem like Bruce and his holiday plans were more important than the lives of millions of people on another planet.

And he wasn’t.

But it still stung. In the past few years he’d seen his kids less and less. They were drifting apart, and Bruce had no one else to blame but himself. He’s the one who taught them to be so selfless. He’s the one who encouraged them to be a heroes and leaders. He was the one who put too many high standards on them all until Dick and most of his other children couldn’t stand being constantly bossed by Bruce and had to go find their own space.

So, like everything else that didn’t go according to plan in his life, Bruce tried to rationalize.

Dick might not be able to come, and neither could Tim or Stephanie. But that didn’t mean his other kids had suddenly vanished. And even if the whole family couldn’t celebrate now, they could always throw a welcome-back party whenever the Young Justice league did return. In the meantime, he could spend this Hanukkah and Christmas making sure Selina and Harvey felt welcomed in his home. He could double down in making sure everything was calm and easy-going for them. He could still have a good celebration with his family, even if they weren’t all there.

But of course Bruce’s problems didn’t end just yet.

Selina called him not soon after that. It seemed like she was ready to talk. She said she had something important to tell Bruce, and that she’d wanted to tell him the previous night but felt a little more comfortable talking over the phone instead.

But they never got that far in their talk.

With there being only one night until Hanukkah, it seemed like Joker couldn’t resist setting up a holiday-themed attack.

He hijacked a late-night talk-show, threatening to crush the host’s head in with a giant nutcracker within the next ten minutes.

And of course, Batman had to be there to stop him.

He tried to get Selina to quickly say what had been bothering her. But with Joker’s threat looming, she refused to say.

“We can talk later, when nobody’s about to die.” She’d said in a cool-tone that didn’t give away a single emotion.

Bruce promised to call her back once Gotham was safe…

Tracking down the Joker’s signal, Batman raced across the city to the studio he was in. And with only a few seconds to spare, Batman stormed into the hijacked studio and threw a batarang at the nutcracker; stopping the mechanical nutcracker’s jaw from crushing a man’s skull.

But Joker hardly seemed to care about his foiled scheme. As soon as Batman entered the room his eyes lit up. Boring into Batman as he charged towards the clown, disarming him as quickly as possible. Even while being knocked to the ground and handcuffed, all Joker could do was laugh.

“I knew you’d come!” Joker said with wheeze as his face was shoved into the ground. “You just couldn’t resist, could you darling?”

“Shut up!” Batman growled.

That just seemed to make Joker cackle even harder. “Uh-oh! Someone’s in a crabby mood! What, did I wake you up from you beauty rest?”

Batman refused to give a verbal answer. Instead he just hoisted the clown up and escorted him out of the studio.

“Seriously?” Joker said once they were away from the crowds and alone in a hallway. His eyes narrowed. “Are you mad at me?”

Batman tried to ignore the man. But it was hard to do when he was inches away from his face.

Joker clucked his teeth, already annoyed by the silence even though it’d only been a few seconds at best. “Batsy, Batsy, we’ve been over this. If something’s bothering you, then you gotta use your big boy words!”

But Batman refused to give the man any response beyond an irritated grunt.

“Yeesh! You’re lucky I know how to speak Bat! Was it the nutcracker? I know I said I’d be more diverse and non-denominational with my holiday-schemes but I couldn’t resist!” Joker paused, waiting to hear any sort of response.

When he didn’t get one Joker pouted and continued. “And I know what you’re thinking, it’s a _nut_ -cracker. So why didn’t I put the guy in nut-first? Well my crude friend, that’s because I thought seeing a skull cracked open would be much more satisfying for the audience. Also between you and me, that host-fella didn’t really have nuts worth crackin’, if you know what I-”

“Why did you have to choose tonight?” Batman finally asked.

Joker sighed and laid on a thick, patronizing tone. “There we go, a full sentence! Was that so hard?”

“Why did you insist on doing this now? Why tonight?” Batman reemphasized.

“It’s really quite simple, my dear. I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out already.” Joker said. Pausing slightly from dramatic effect before answering the question in a soft voice. “I choose tonight because I’ve missed you.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Oh but I am, I’ve really missed you. I haven’t seen you in months.”

“That tends to happen when you’re hiding from the police.” Batman said dryly.

“And I just couldn’t resist going a single day more without seeing you again.” Joker added, slowing to a stop in the middle of the hall.

Batman huffed, shoving the clown to keep moving. Once they were outside there was a police cruiser with Joker’s name on it. “Well I hope this all was worth it, cause you’re about to go spend the holidays in Arkham Asylum. Alone.”

“Oh but it was worth it. Every trial and tribulation!” Joker said. Refusing to move forwards. Instead he spun around in Batman’s arms to look into his eyes. Or at least into the white disks he knew his Batman’s eyes. “I hope you know that everything I do, I do for you.”

“It’s not.” Batman said, trying to persuade both of them

“Oh but it is! Every robbery, every bomb, even the smallest gags and gimmicks! I do it all because I know how much it catches your attention!” Joker said with a little laugh “Why, if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t even be here!”

“That’s a lie.” Batman said.

“No Batsy, we’re both pathological liars. You know when I’m lying and when I’m for real.” Joker said, trying to correct him.

The worst part was that he knew the Joker was right.

They were close to the doors now. Soon Joker would be in the hands of the GYPD. And he hoped once he was away from Joker, the coiled-feeling in his stomach would go away as well.

They were just at the doors when Joker stopped Batman again. One more time. “Wait, wait, wait! Before we go out there I need to tell you something.”

Batman sighed heavily through his nose. “What now Joker?”

“I ran into your buddy Two-Face on the way here.”

All at once Batman’s blood ran cold.

“What?”

“I wanted to warn you cause he seemed a lot more like Harv and less like good’ol Mr. Dent to me.”

“That… That’s impossible! He hasn’t relapsed in years.”

“Everyone has their relapses.” Joker said somewhat sadly. “I just wanted to let you know since you’ve really been on Twooey about sticking to the straight and narrow.”

“Where was he?”

“Heading towards some law office downtown.”

Things blurred after that. Batman handed Joker off to the police. He remembered hearing Joker called out “Happy Holidays, Batsy!”

But Bruce was beginning to believe this holiday season would be anything but…

Oracle updated Batman while he was already on the look-out for Harvey. Signal, Robin and Black Bat were already on their way as well. Apparently reports were coming in downtown. Several witnesses claimed to see Two-Face with a crew stepping into a rivaling law firm. And some people claimed to see Harvey with a loaded gun in-hand.

That alone was not a good sign.

Bruce wanted to believe that Harvey wasn’t doing anything dangerous. Maybe he was just visiting some friends and the witnesses assumed the worst. But Bruce couldn’t deny that the set-up seemed disquieting. And he couldn’t ignore the mentions of a gun. Harvey had been barred from possessing a firearm let along handling one in public.

Of all the things to go wrong. What Batman walked into hurt most of all.

After four years of hard work and therapy…

Two-Face was fully back in control.

And he was holding a team of lawyers at gunpoint.

“Harvey, what’s the meaning of this?” Batman demanded an answer.

“Careful Batman, that’s not my name.” Two-Face said in a testy voice. “As for these pieces of sub-human filth; they decided they’d rather treat innocent men and women like animals. So I’m here to return the favor.”

The lawyers in question trembled at Two-Face’s words. It appeared like those who stayed late in the office had been corralled into a breakroom by Dent’s men. And now they were awaiting their punishment at the unstable man’s hands.

“Harv, listen to me. You have to stop this right now.” Batman warned. “Harvey’s come so far, if you don’t stop now he’ll end up back at square one.”

Two-Face shook his head at that. “Harvey fell back to square one the second he went back into law. He should really know better by now. He just can’t be a lawyer. He doesn’t have the right… temperament.”

Batman couldn’t help but grimace as Two-Face gave him a painful-looking smile that tugged at the bad-corner of his face.

“However, together we make the perfect judge, jury and executioner!”

With that, a fight broke out.

Signal, Robin and Black Bat went after the crew while Batman went after Two-Face. Throwing a batarang Batman disarmed Dent’s good hand, forcing him to drop his gun with a hiss. And as he tried to run from the room Batman was close behind.

They caught up together when Dent stumbled into a stairwell. Batman noticed how uncoordinated the man was becoming. A less experienced man might assume Dent had been drugged but Batman knew him too well. This was one of the tell-tale signs that Dent was about to switch personalities, violently. Harvey was fighting to get back control.

Batman gave him space as he switched personas.

And slowly, leaning up against a handrailing. Dent looked up and Batman knew he had his best friend back.

“Where- What’s going on?” Harvey gasped, blinking owlishly.

Batman tried to approach Dent slowly, while speaking in a clinical tone. “Harvey, you just went through an episode.”

It took a moment for Harvey to process the words. But as he realized what happened he began to freak out. “Wait no! It can’t- No!”

“Do you know what triggered your change?” Batman asked. “Did you see anything, or feel a certain way that set you off?”

“I- I was preparing for a case, and I found out that I would be going against some of my old colleagues. They use to be such good people and now they were willing to- Oh God!” Harvey looked up at Batman, eyes wild and wide. “I didn’t kill anyone right? You, you stopped me right?”

“My team and I arrived just in time.” Batman said. “No one was badly hurt by you.”

Harvey sighed in some relief. “Thank you…”

“I do have to bring you to Arkham though.”

At the mention of the asylum, Harvey’s body tensed up and he began backing away from the Bat. “No.”

“I can’t let this slide. You broke and entered a private building and held several people hostage.”

“No! Batman I can’t go back there!” Harvey said. Growing more desperate. “I… I made a promise to my friend. I can’t let him know about this!”

Batman’s heart ached as he approached Harvey. “I’m sure he’ll understand.”

“No he won’t! I promised him I’d get better! I promised him I’d be in his life more! I’ve been working so hard to prove I’m a changed man! If I go back now- If you take me back now all that goes away!”

“Harvey, I’m sorry but you relapsed. Nobody knows how long you switched, and based on your unstable transitions you don’t even know yourself.” Batman continued, it hurt how Harvey couldn’t even look at him. “If you can’t control Harv then you’re not just a danger to society, but you a danger to yourself.”

Harvey held his head down in shame. “But I promised I’d be there for him this Christmas…”

“This was outside of your control. And it was outside of your friend’s control as well.” Batman said gently.

“But it wasn’t… Earlier today I forgot to take my meds. I felt fine, I thought it’d be ok. If I had just taken those stupid pills then none of this would have happened!” Harvey snapped.

In a moment of rage he went to punch a wall. He only hurt himself worse in the process. Then as he prepared to ram his head in the wall Batman was quick to step in and pull the man back. For a moment Harvey fought him. But in the end he just sunk down and with shaky breath.

“I let him down…” Harvey said, voice filled with sorrow. “Bruce will never talk to me again after this…”

“You don’t know that.” Batman tried to say.

Harvey scoffed. Almost in tears. “You don’t know anything about me.”

“I do. I know you’re a good man who’s trying to be better.” Batman said, his voice growing softer and sounding less like the cold, collected Batman and more like someone human. “And… And I know your friends like Bruce will never give up on you.”

Harvey shoved Batman’s hand away, still not believing him. “You say that, but how many times do I have to fail before Bruce finally sees me for what I am? Everyone else does. You do!”

Batman wasn’t sure what to say. He wanted Harvey to not lose hope in himself, but if he said too much Harvey might see who Batman truly was. And this was probably the worst time to reveal his identity to Harvey, he’d gone through enough today already.

“I know you can be better. And I promise, I’ll never stop trying to help you…”

Batman hoped he’d sounded supportive. But much to his dismay his words had the opposite effect.

Harvey glared at the Bat. “Help? Do you honestly think you actually help people?”

“Harvey-”

“You claim you stop crime, but if that were really the case then guys like me wouldn’t keep showing up.”

Bruce tried to justify himself. “I-”

But Harvey refused to let him. “Arkham’s a revolving door, and a toilet. Most of the people who go there come out worse. And the only good use for Blackgate is recruiting new muscle for your crew. The entire justice system is broken!”

Batman remained silent. A small part of him hoped that maybe this was Two-Face trying to take back control and get under Batman’s skin. But he knew Harvey too well. He knew there was no Two-Face trying to take over. Every word coming from Harvey’s mouth was his own.

“The real kicker is you see yourself as this solution, but you’re part of the problem!” Glaring Batman down, Harvey jabbed a finger at Batman’s chest. “You see yourself as this great hero, but in reality you’re no better than me or any other rouge in Gotham. And if weren’t for you being buddy-buddy with the cops you’d be stuck in a glass box just like the rest of us!”

“Everything I do, I do for the sake of this city. To help people. To help you…” Bruce said.

Harvey just chuckled cruelly. “You’ve never helped anyone. And you’ve certainly never helped me.”

Even after he released Harvey into GYPD custody, his words still haunted him.

For years he’d fought to win Harvey back. To bring the man back into the light. And he lost it all in a single night. Never before had his connection to Harvey seemed so fragile.

He’d heard people accuse Batman of such things before. But the person dismissing Batman had never been so close to Bruce…

As he walked away from the scene, there was a gentle voice at his side. “Is everything ok?”

Bruce turned to Black Bat. Cass had been with him through so much and seeing her be so conscious of other’s emotions made Bruce so proud. But when that compassion was turned towards him he never knew quite what to do.

“I’ll be fine. I’m more worried about Harvey.”

After giving the cops their final notes, Robin and Signal were quick to join them.

“What the hell happened in there?” Signal snapped, keeping his voice low so outsiders lingering around the crime scene couldn’t hear them. “You and Dent just ran off. Is he gonna be alright?”

“Harvey… He had a relapse. And he’s being brought back to Arkham.”

“That makes four people now who will be absent from the celebration.” Robin grumbled testily.

Signal sighed. “Batman, I’m so s-”

But Batman was quick to brush all of his sidekicks off. “If you don’t need anything else, I will be patrolling the docks.”

“I can accompany you if you like.” Black Bat piped up.

“That won’t be necessary.” Batman replied as he readied a grappling hook to make his exit. “You all take care, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Happy Holidays, Batman.” Black Bat replied as he flew away.

But even with the wind rushing through his ears he could still hear Harvey’s words echoing in his head.

Hours later when he finally retired for the night, stumbling into his room during the early morning, Bruce wanted nothing more than to curl up in his bed and forget the entire night.

But just as he entered his room he discovered he wasn’t alone.

“Rough night, huh?” Selina asked. She was sitting crisscrossed on Bruce’s bed. Moonlight faintly outlining her face.

“You have no idea…” Bruce said with a heavy sigh. Letting his body go limp and fall down onto his bed next to Selina.

“I’m sorry about Harvey.” Selina added quietly.

Bruce was tempted to ask Selina how she already heard the news. But Selina being Selina, she had eyes and ears everywhere. With so many people already knowing about his relapse, Bruce was certain Harvey must be mortified.

Thinking about Harvey too much made his heart hurt so he was quick to change the subject.

“Earlier you wanted to talk. You said it was something important. Is something wrong?”

“That depends on who you ask.” Selina said with a sigh, before finally telling Bruce what she wanted to say.

“I’m pregnant.”

For a moment the world felt paused. Under normal circumstances anyone would be elated to find out they might have a child, especially someone who loved kids like Bruce did. But with everything that had been happening that day, plus his rocky relationship with Selina, Bruce felt like he was about to be thrown under water. Like there was a second shoe waiting to drop.

But it never did. Selina simply waited for Bruce’s response.

With his mouth feeling uncomfortably dry, Bruce managed to find his voice.

“So, what do you want to do?”

Selina let herself fall down and lay next to Bruce, staring up at the ceiling.

“… I have no idea.”

He knew it was risky to say, but Bruce couldn’t resist. “If you want… I could take care of the baby.”

Selina gave him a short, humorless laugh. “You mean Alfred would take care of them. Meanwhile we both just, run around the city like suicidal maniacs fighting crime?”

Bruce didn’t give Selina a response. Lately he’d been giving his vigilantism a more critical lens.

“Face it Bruce, you’re a great Dad, but between the full day and night job you have no time to raise a baby. And god knows I’m in no position to have a kid tagging along…”

Bruce knew at the end of the day, this decision was Selina’s alone to make.

Reaching over, he grabbed Selina’s hand and squeezed it tightly. “No matter what happens, you’re always welcome here.”

“That’s just the problem isn’t it?” Selina said, still not looking Bruce in the eye. “Feed a stray cat long enough and eventually you consider it part of the family.”

“You’re no stray.” Bruce said.

“But I’m certainly not a house cat either…” Selina replied.

For a while there was a pregnant pause over the two. Keeping them in a weird state where they felt so close, resting side by side, and yet felt miles apart with such an uncertain future.

Until finally, Selina let go of Bruce’s hand and her voice shattered the silence. “Look, don’t take this the wrong way. But I have a lot of thinking I need to do… And I promise to be there for you every night this week. But after that, once Hanukkah is over. I’m going to need some space. I’ll need to think.”

“I-” Bruce’s heart felt so broken and yet it kept finding new ways to shatter. “I understand.”

“You sure you’ll be ok?”

Bruce wasn’t. “I promise.”

“Ok…” The bed dipped as Selina got up. Bruce closed his eyes and felt a soft pair of lips touch his. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

With that, Selina was gone.

Bruce couldn’t bear to watch her go so he kept his eyes closed. Until the room went still and he knew he was alone.

As he slowly fell asleep, for the first time in decades, Bruce questioned his life choices.

It’d ruined his relationships with his family and friends. And for what? A city that was still ridden with crime? A world where children were orphaned and unsafe every day? A world where good men could still fall into the clutches of evil? What was the point of a hero whose work is never done? And what kind of father encourages his children to take up such an impossible mantle?

That night, not only did he regret becoming Batman, he hated Batman.

He hated himself. Hated the life he’d chosen.

And faintly as he drifted off into a bitter sleep, Bruce thought about how everyone would be better off if Batman had never come to be…


	3. The First Night of Hanukkah

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, a lot has happened in my personal life since I last updated. I now have a bachelor's degree in biology!
> 
> Anyways, hope you all enjoy this latest chapter, in which Bruce wakes up to a strange new life...

The next morning, before Bruce could even wake up, he knew something was wrong.

His body felt far too rested, far too relaxed to be natural.

His first thought was that he had been drugged, but that wasn’t quite right. His mind felt perfectly fine and didn’t have the usual sluggish haze he normally associated with drug-induced sleep.

Something was off.

Bruce’s second major clue came when he finally opened his eyes.

He was in his bedroom… Except he clearly was not.

For some reason, all the walls had been painted pale green, rather than the usual gold and tan Bruce was used to.

Not only that, but someone had rearranged all his furniture as well. His dresser was now across from his closet instead of directly next to it. There was a large vanity in its former place. And instead of his swords and his favorite painting of the Gotham cityline, there was a collection of Italian ceramic masks hanging on the walls. Weirdest of all was the fact that his bed was on the opposite end of the room, instead of on the left-side of the door like it normally was.

That probably explained why he felt so disoriented waking up at first, the sun had been beaming down on the wrong side of his face.

But that still didn’t explain the odd feeling coming from his body.

Lifting up his blanket, Bruce tried to see if he had on any bandages. Perhaps he’d gotten hurt last night and Alfred had to bandage and drug him up. Maybe he’d been so high he just didn’t remember.

However, things only continued to grow stranger.

Instead of his usual sweat pants and tee-shirt, he was wearing a set of purple, silk pajamas.

“What in the fresh hell-” Bruce found himself muttering as he tried to undo the long row of tiny, little buttons down the front to the shirt.

He’d never worn silk pajamas. Let alone _purple,_ silk pajamas. The worst part was the obnoxious “Mr. Wayne” embroidered across the right breast in fancy silver stitching. He’d only seen these pajamas for a millisecond and he already hated them. More than he hated anything else in the entire room.

When he finally had enough of the little buttons undone, he pulled back his shirt to see how bad the damage was.

But what he saw he could hardly believe.

For a moment it was like Bruce’s brain had short-circuited. All he could do was numbly watch as his own hand touched his chest.

His completely unmarked chest.

His skin was perfectly smooth. No bruises, no scar tissue, no knife wounds or old bullet-holes. No marks of any kind.

Ripping off the pajama shirt, Bruce stumbled out of bed towards the vanity mirror. To make sure what he was seeing was real.

And sure enough as he traced his hands across his chest, all of his skin was perfectly smooth and fresh. It was like all his years of crime-fighting had been completely erased from his skin.

Not only that, but his muscles had disappeared overnight as well. The rock-hard abs and pecs he’d spent years developing were gone. And instead, his stomach had a softness to it he’d never felt before.

Bruce could usually handle a lot of strangeness. But seeing that strangeness have such a major impact in his physical body was Bruce’s tipping point.

Just as he was about to freak-out. He heard the door open and Alfred stepped quietly into the room.

“Oh, you’re already up for once?” Alfred commented dryly, before seeing how panicked his ward was. “Master Bruce, are you alright?”

“Alfred, I think something’s wrong with me!”

Alfred frowned at that. “Whatever do you mean?”

“Something’s wrong Alfred! With my room, my body. Look at me! None of this is right! What happened to me?”

Looking carefully at Bruce, Alfred took a few steps closer, clearly worried now. “Sir, have you taken your medication yet this morning?”

Something in Bruce went cold and he felt himself back away from Alfred. “My what?”

“Your xanax? You know how your anxiety always gets worse this time of year.” Alfred said, in a chiding tone like this was something he had to remind Bruce of several times a week.

“I- I don’t take anti-anxiety medicine. I never have Alfred.” Bruce gasped. “Please you have to believe me! Something’s wrong here. I don’t know how, but I know for a fact this isn’t my life. This isn’t my body. This isn’t me. It’s like, It’s like I woke up in the wrong universe or something.”

“How have you been sleeping lately?” He heard Alfred ask. “You’ve been working so hard on your new housing project, I’ve seen you up all hours of the night.”

“Alfred,” Bruce groaned. “This isn’t about sleep issues. Something is seriously wrong with me. It’s like I’m stuck in the wrong life.”

“I understand that Bruce.” Alfred continued, stepping closer into Bruce’s personal space. “But I want you to take a moment and think about the rational before getting swept up in the theoretical.”

Sighing, Bruce forced himself not to flinch as Alfred got closer. “I’m not crazy.”

“I never said you were.” Alfred said gently. “Just tell me, what do you remember from last night?”

“I-” Bruce wasn’t entirely sure how much he should even say. How much was this version of Alfred willing to believe? “Last night, I got home late from work, talked to my kids, talked to my girlfriend and then I went to bed. Nothing unusual about that.”

“Girlfriend?” Alfred asked dryly. “You better hope your husband doesn’t hear you talking about that.”

“That’s my point!” Bruce said exasperatedly. “I don’t have a husband! I’m not working on some housing project! And I definitely am not the type of guy who hangs harlequin masks around my bedroom and wears silk pajamas! Alfred, you have to believe me here: I’m not the Bruce Wayne you know. I’m from… somewhere else.”

Leaning over, Alfred looked deeply into Bruce’s eyes. Searching for something. A lie perhaps? Maybe a sign of insanity?

Whatever it was it made the man bristle, his frown grew deeper and he finally stepped out of Bruce’s personal space, now looking somewhat disturbed.

“Very well, Master Bruce. I believe you. For now.”

“What made you change your mind so suddenly?” Bruce asked.

“You’re eyes.” Alfred explained. “They’re blue, not hazel.”

“Oh.” While odd, it was still a good sign. That meant there was evidence to show that he was indeed in the wrong body somehow.

“You… you are Bruce Wayne? Are you not?” Alfred asked tensely. 

“Yes. I promise I am. I’m just… a different version of him I think. If that makes any sense.” Bruce tried to explain. “I don’t have a husband in my world, and my body isn’t in this good of shape, but I do have my children. And my job is still to take care for Gotham. I would do anything to protect my loved ones as well as everyone in this entire city.”

Alfred listened to Bruce carefully. Until he finally relaxed some. Bruce realized the butler has almost taken something out of his suit jacket but decided against it. “Well, at least you both have something in common, Master Bruce.”

“Thank you.” Bruce said. Sighing in relief.

“But that doesn’t explain how you got here though. Or what we need to do with you.” Alfred said. Pivoting on his heels he began to pace the room. “I’m sure Master Richard has encountered some odd occurrences in his travels. He always speaks of magic and extraterrestrials. Perhaps he could help you when he arrives later tonight.”

“What?” For a moment, Bruce couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Dick’s coming?”

“Of course he’s coming for Hanukah, Master Bruce.” Alfred replied. As if that had been the most ridiculous thing he’d heard in the last few minutes. “He promised he’d be there. And you know that boy seldom breaks his promises... Or perhaps you don’t”

“No, that is true.” Despite everything Bruce couldn’t help but smile a little. Maybe some things didn’t change.

“In the meantime, I suggest you go about your day as normally as you can. Try and do your best to be the Bruce Wayne we all know and love.” Alfred explained. “It would be much easier to act as though everything’s fine. Not only for your husband’s sake, but your children as well. Rather than... distress them with these peculiarities. At least until Master Richard can take care of things.”

Something about lying and pretending to be this other-Bruce rubbed him the wrong way. But if Alfred thought that would be the better course of action, Bruce would trust his judgment. At least for now since he didn’t know anything about this alternate family of his. “Uh, ok. I can do that.”

“That begins with taking your medicine.”

Bruce was about to say something, but Alfred interrupted him.

“Even though you may claim that your mind is someone else’s, this is still Bruce Wayne’s body. So for now please just take your medication?” Moving swiftly across the room, Alfred walked into the bathroom before returning with a bottle of pills. “I won’t ask you again, sir.”

Now that Bruce thought about it, his chest still had that annoying fluttering-feeling. Ever since he woke up it had yet to fully go away.

And seeing as this version of Alfred was refusing to let it go, Bruce realized he didn’t have much of a choice.

Taking half of a tab from Alfred, Bruce swallowed the Xanax along with a glass of water left sitting on the vanity.

That seemed to finally appease Alfred who nodded in approval. “In half an hour you should begin to feel better. And if you find yourself distressed at any point later in the day, feel free to take another half-tablet. You keep your medicine in the Master Bathroom cabinet.”

“Thank you, Alfred.” Bruce said, “For everything. For believing-”

“Just promise me you won’t try and cause any sort of trouble if I let you into the rest of the house.” Alfred said curtly before Bruce could continue. “This is a very important time of year for the Wayne family, and I won’t have anyone ruin it. Not even yourself.”

“Why can’t we just tell the other’s something happened?” Bruce asked. “In my world this sort of thing happens all the time.”

“Well not here, it doesn’t.” Alfred answered plainly. In an almost offended-tone. “Trust me, the last thing this family needs is more ludicrous misadventures. I doubt anyone in the family would be prepared to handle such a situation. No one except Master Richard that is.”

Bruce was trying to read between the lines. Understand what Alfred was really saying in his vagueness. From what he could gather, it seemed like this world’s Dick was the only one in the hero business. At least familiar enough to handle Metahuman situations. That and the fact that they all must seriously care about Hanukkah.

Alfred moved swiftly through the room, pulling out a sweater and pair of slacks and folding them up on Bruce’s bed as he spoke. “So if you can, please be on your best behavior. For today and for however-long you’re here. Until Master Richard can fix whatever’s happened to you.”

“I promise.” Bruce said. He really hoped he could keep this promise.

“Very good.” Alfred replied. “Breakfast will be ready in twenty minutes. I expect you down stairs well before then, and ready to interact with your daughter and son. He arrived late last night with one of his friends. And your husband should be home from Star City this afternoon.”

Bruce had no idea which of his sons or daughters Alfred was referring to. But he just nodded his head. “Got it.”

With that, Alfred left the room and Bruce was finally alone again.

Walking back to the bed, Bruce checked out the clothes Alfred set out for him. The pair of black pants was simple enough, but the sweater was another story. It was a nice royal-blue but the front of the sweater had a glittery yellow menorah stitched on. Complete with light-bulb candles and buttons that played music. Bruce had always hated having to wear flashy clothes. He was already getting second-hand embarrassment just thinking about how people would be pushing all the little buttons on his shirt to make it light up and play music. It was the type of sweater Dick or Stephanie might enjoy but it wasn’t for Bruce, that was for certain.

Maybe since Alfred wasn’t looking, he could try switching this sweater out from something more comfortable. Or at least find Hanukkah sweater that wasn’t as sparkly or loud. Leaving the sweater where it was, Bruce went back into the closet to try finding a better alternative. Among all the holiday-wear, he found a Hanukkah sweater that was more to his liking. A deep, navy blue turtleneck that had simple, silver and gold stars scattered across it.

As he slipped it on, Bruce already felt much more at ease. Something about turtlenecks had always managed to make him feel safe. And looking in a mirror Bruce took a moment to check himself over. With his skin hidden, he could almost pretend he was still himself. That he hadn’t woken up in this strange world in a different body.

If Bruce was honest he kept wondering if he’d soon wake up in a daze. Discovering that this was all just some drug-fueled dream. But the longer things went on the more Bruce realized that somehow this was all real.

Before he left the closet though, Bruce couldn’t help but notice an entire section taken up by a collection of bright, colorful suits. They all appeared to be far too thin to ever fit himself so Bruce had to assume they must all belong to his husband. Whoever that was.

Steeping out of the closet, and out of his own bedroom, Bruce was relieved to find that the rest of the manor appeared to look like his own Manor. More or less. A few paintings had been rearranged but Wayne Manor was still Wayne Manor.

And the dining hall was still on the first floor in the left wing of the house.

As he walked through the halls, Bruce mentally prepared himself for who he might see. He didn’t know which of his kids would be there, but he’d have to keep in mind the promise he made to Alfred.

So taking in a deep breath, Bruce opened the main doors and put on a happy face.

It turned out the son Alfred referred to was none other than Jason. He also saw Duke sitting next to him at the table. There was also a young girl next to them that Bruce didn’t recognize at all. She appeared a few years younger than Damian, but she was wearing her own silly blue menorah sweater, something his son would never be caught dead wearing. With a head full of raven hair and the Wayne-family eyebrows, Bruce had no doubts the girl must be his. She had been excitedly talking to Jason and Duke, but when Bruce walked through the door she turned to him, beaming. Jumping up from her seat, she sprinted over to Bruce and gave him a big hug.

“Happy Hanukkah, Dad!” The girl cheered.

“Yeesh Helena,” Jason commented, pretending to be outraged. “I’m the one whose been gone for six months. You see that dork every day but he’s the one you tackle hug?”

Duke just laughed before getting up to introduce himself, there was a slight tremor to his voice. Like he was afraid of making a bad impression. “Uh, hello sir! It’s a pleasure to finally meet you in person. I’m Duke, Duke Thomas. One of Jason’s friends from school.”

It was weird seeing Duke introduce himself so formally to Bruce. Back in his universe, they had been teammates for years and yet in this world they’d never even met? But Bruce tried to not let his mixed emotions show and shook Duke’s hand warmly.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Duke. And I’m happy to welcome you into my home.”

That at least, made Duke look a little less nervous. “Thank you.”

The girl, Helena, pushed all the buttons on her sweater so it would sing and swung herself from side-to-side as she hugged Bruce. “Pay attention to meee!”

Smirking, Bruce reached down and scooped the girl up. “Ok, you have my attention. Are you excited for tonight?”

Giggling, Helena nodded. “I can’t wait to see Aunt Kate! And Aunt Bette! And Uncle JP! And Dick!”

“Can’t forget Dick.” Jason said sarcastically.

Alfred soon came out with breakfast after that. And Helena dragged everyone back to the table so they could all sit together, with her in the center of them all. As he served them all food Alfred kept giving Bruce these very pointed looks. Probably because he’d chosen a different sweater. But he didn’t comment on it so Bruce could only assume it wasn’t too serious of a problem.

As they ate, Bruce decided to keep the ball rolling with his kids. “So Duke, how did you and my son become such good friends?”

“We’re roommates actually.” Jason explained.

“Oh my god, they were roommates.” Helena added with a giggle.

“And it turns, out we actually get along pretty well.” Duke continued. “My family’s been a bit chaotic so when Jason offered to let me spend the holidays, I said I’d be honored.”

“And he literally said he’d be honored. Like the mass-communications nerd he is.” Jason joked.

“Hey, the social sciences aren’t all bad.” Bruce joked back. And taking a risk he guessed, “We can’t all be English majors like you.”

“Hey you actually remembered for once!” Jason cheered sarcastically. “Spending a quarter of a million dollars just to study a language I already know.”

“And I’m sure it’s going great!” Bruce added.

Duke and Helena didn’t seem to notice anything odd with what he said, but Jason looked back at Bruce like he’d just grown a third head. “You really think so?”

That must have been too personal. Trying to keep up his cover, Bruce added. “As long as you’re not slacking off in your classes.”

That seemed to make Jason less suspicious, and instead he just scowled, “That’s none of your business, old man.”

Breakfast and the rest of the morning continued easily enough. Bruce made sure to carefully ask questions about the kids. Not to specific so they didn’t realize he didn’t actually know them. But just enough that they were usually willing to talk with him.

Helena was 10 and attending Gotham Academy. Her favorite subjects were science, art and music class. Also, she adored the Birds of Prey and thought they were the coolest heroes. Even cooler than the Teen Titans in her opinion. Bruce tried to ask her more questions about other heroes like the Titans or the Justice League (to see if this world even had a Justice League). Apparently they did, but Helena was much more interested in talking about the BOP than those “Boring Justice Boomers”.

Jason was a Graduate while Duke was still working on his bachelors. Duke was hoping to get an internship for a publishing company or a newspaper like the Gotham Gazette. Meanwhile Jason had apparently been working on his final thesis: an in-depth look at the symbolism of heroes and their impact on society. Bruce couldn’t help but be impressed with both boys. Both seemed to be very hard-working in their studies, not to mention well-read over all.

He didn’t know what kind of relationship the other-Bruce had with Jason but seeing how Jason felt comfortable staying in Wayne manor and talking with him, he could only imagine how much better the two of them got along.

Still though, something must have been going on between Jason and other-Bruce. Apparently Bruce hadn’t originally approved of Jason’s career choice and that had driven a pillar between the two. But at least that pillar hadn’t been Batman-sized, the way it was in his original universe.

As they talked, preparations for that night had already begun. Even though he was trapped in an alternate universe, it was still the first night of Hanukkah. While Alfred got to work, Bruce, Helena, Jason and Duke cleaned up around the house and began setting up some decorations. At first Bruce tried to remind Duke that he was a guest but Duke insisted on helping. By the end they had the whole house sparkling and decked out in blue, silver and gold.

As the afternoon approached Bruce couldn’t help but get nervous. He’d be meeting his alleged husband soon. He might have been able to trick his kids but how was he supposed to fool his own spouse?

However the afternoon came and passed. And eventually Alfred received a call. Apparently due to “a sudden snow storm”, Buce’s husband’s flight had been delayed from Star City for an additional 24 hours. Potentially more if the poor weather continued. And the same storm was keeping Dick’s flight grounded as well.

That at least bought Bruce a little more time, but Helena quickly became sullen. Not only was her “Papa” going to be late, but she began worrying that no one else would be able to come either.

Bruce did his best to comfort his daughter. Reassuring her that no matter what happened, they’d still be a family. And even if they couldn’t all be together for their first night of Hanukkah, that didn’t make the day any less important or meaningful.

Helena’s spirits got lifted a little though, when they got a confirmation from Alfred that “Aunt Kate’s” flight she booked with Jean-Paul and Bette didn’t have any complications so they’d be landing in Gotham before the end of the day. So at least the three of them would be able to join them for the first night of Hanukkah.

As the day drew on and evening fast approached, Helena insisted that they all join Alfred in the kitchen to help make latkes. And at first Bruce tried to take a back seat. When it came to baking and cooking Bruce usually ended up with a burnt mess, especially when said cooking involved a pot of hot oil.

But Helena was adamant that Bruce at least try and make one latke. And not wanting to disappoint his daughter, Bruce attempted to make something that was at least slightly-edible.

Strangely enough though, as Bruce cooked, his hands seemed to take on a life of their own. Stirring up the eggs and potato, adding an expert amount of salt and spices as he went. And as his potato cakes went into the pot, he did so without even flinching at the sputtering oil. It was like his hand’s had a muscle memory he’d never had in his normal life. He even seemed to have a phantom-feeling for when the latkes were done frying and ready to be served. Perfectly fried to a golden-brown, crispy crust, and not too greasy that it sat in a puddle.

“I didn’t know I could bake this well.” Bruce said, still marveling at the food he cooked.

“As I say Master Bruce, baking takes a lot of patience and sensitivity. And cannot be mastered in a single night.” Alfred commented before adding his own pot-worth of latkes to the platter. “Perhaps you just needed more time to practice.”

Maybe if he hadn’t been stuck being Batman in his world, Bruce would have had more time for things like baking. The thought was oddly bittersweet for Bruce. He couldn’t help but wonder how many other skills he’d missed out on mastering while he was busy training to be the Dark Knight.

Alfred didn’t let him ponder for long before tossing a turkey baster his way. “Why don’t you make yourself useful and help me baste the roast chicken?”

Alfred almost never let him help out kitchen, let alone with main dishes like roast chicken. Bruce couldn’t stop from smiling as Alfred ushered him over towards the oven. As they worked Alfred tried to give Bruce instructions, but once again his muscle memory seemed to be doing all the leg-work for him.

While they were all preparing dinner, the doorbell rang. Kate and her crew had finally arrived to Wayne Manor.

Helena went sprinting out of the kitchen and down the halls, excitedly calling out to her Aunts and Uncles.

Bruce soon followed but stopped short when he finally saw his cousins and Jean-Paul. All three of them looked utterly exhausted. Much more than a simple long-plane ride would have warranted. Bette seemed to sway on her feet. And Bruce noticed how Kate almost dropped Helena as their girl leapt into her arms. Jean-Paul actually did drop the box of jelly donuts he was carrying when his hand went too lax. 

But the trio was obviously trying their best to put on a brave face and all insisted they were fine. No matter how much Bruce or Alfred tried to pester them into taking a seat to rest.

“Oh come on, we can rest when we’re dead!” Kate said, nonchalantly. “Besides, it’s almost sunset so we better go light your ma's menorah!”

Not being able to talk them out of it, Bruce trailed behind as his cousins and kids all went to the front foyer to officially begin Hanukkah. Which began by singing a few prayers and lighting Martha Wayne’s menorah at dusk.

This world was different from the one Bruce was from. Clearly this had to be some sort of universe in which Batman didn’t exist. But for at least a moment, it didn't seem to be all bad...


	4. The Second Night of Hanukkah

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been a while. Between job-hunting and the plague, thing's have been kinda hectic. But I'm so happy I finally got a new chapter for you all. Hope you enjoy!

Bruce knew deep in his heart that despite how nice this world appeared, there had to be some setbacks. No place was perfect. 

But as the evening continued and the dawn came, Bruce was suprised that he slept through the whole night. No night terrors. No random aches and pains. 

No emergency calls. 

And when he woke up in the morning he was still suprised, when he tuned into the morning news there was no major crimes reported. A few robberies, but nothing severe. No attacks. No hijackings. Strangest of all was the complete lack of reports from the rouges gallary. 

Surely there was some enemy of Batman's plotting a scheme... Right?

But as the morning continued, it seemed Bruce's deepest insecurity was confirmed.

He had been here for over 24 hours. To his knowledge this world had no Batman of any kind. 

And nothing had happened.

Batman simply wasn't needed.

This new knowledge stung. Like a cruel slap in the face. He could have had this life the whole time. Spending more time with his family, persuing different interests he never had time for. He could have done anything besides become a vigilante.

And it would have made no difference in Gotham. If anything, Gotham seemed a little better off here.

Bruce tried to stay present in the family's morning. Joining them all in making breakfest. Pretending everything was fine. But Bruce could still feel that doubt neggling at him.

However as they all sat down breakfest, Bruce discovered a flaw that was hiding in this world. 

It all began when out of nowhere, Helena dropped a bombshell on Bruce.

She seemed much less chipper than the day before. Glumly looking down at her phone.

"Hey sweetie, are you ok?" Bruce tried to ask gently.

"Mom just wished me a Merry Christmas..." Then she asked, "Dad? Why can't Mom join us for the holidays?"

Bruce felt himself freeze. How could he explain that? He wasn't even certain who her Mom was. He had a few ideas of course, but he had gotten no confirmation.

Luckily, Alfred was there to respond. "I'm afraid you're Mother's away in Milan and won't be able to make it in time."

A simple answer. But it wasn't enough to satisfy Bruce or Helena.

"She always has some dumb excuse." Helena pouted. "Everyone else promised to be here! Why couldn't she?"

Jason smirked and finally shed some light on the situation. "Come on, you know your Mom and Dick can't stand eachother. They can barely stay in the same city, let alone the same house."

"But we literally have a mansion! It's huge! If we put my Mom in the west wing and Dick in the east wing, they would never even see each other!" Helena tried to say.

"Holidays don't work that way, dear." Alred was quick to say. "When we celebrate we all must come together as a family. Everyone must be a willing participant, otherwise there's no point in celebrating at all."

For a moment, Bruce saw a annoyed scowl cross his little girl's face. It reminded him too much of Selina. And he feared he knew who Helena's absent-mother was. When Helena began to sulk it almost broke Bruce's heart.

"I wish my Mom liked us more."

"Hey your Mom only has beef with Dick." Jason added in. "She likes the rest of us fine. And she loves you!"

Helena didn't respond. And Bruce realized she didn't beleive her brother. 

He had to figure what happened between Selina and Dick. 

Throughout the rest of breakfest Bruce waited for the moment he could talk with Alfred in private. 

Fortunately that moment came soon enough. Jason took Duke, Kate and Jean-Paul out to venture around Gotham. Bette decided not to go with them, instead opting to "catch up on some sleep before all the partying". And once Alfred directed Helena to the library to work on her school assignments, Bruce found himself completely alone with the man.

"I imagine you have some questions about your son and ex-wife?" Alfred said bluntly.

"Yes, I do." Bruce began, still trying to grasp it all. "Who was I married to? Who am I married to now? And what happened here?"

Alfred looked reluctant to answer, but from what Bruce could tell from his body language, the man was telling the truth. "When you were younger you married to one Ms. Selina Kyle. You had your daughter, Helena, together. But early on it was obvious you weren't... shall we say properly matched? You were given full custody of your daughter, however Ms. Kyle does have visitation rights. Though she seldom uses them."

Bruce bristled at the words, but let Alfred continue. 

"Later on you met and began a relationship with a John Doe, who after getting married, legally changed his name to Jack Wayne. And you have been happy together ever since."

Bruce couldn't help but wonder, "Is Selina ok with Jack?"

"She never approved of your second spouse, no." Alfred confirmed.

"And does Richard like either of my spouses?" Bruce asked.

"Master Richard tolerats Mr. Jack. However that tolerance does not extend to Ms. Kyle." Alfred looked somewhat sad. "You have to understand, Master Richard, your son, cares deeply about you. About this entire family. He just has trouble properly expressing it to you all..."

Bruce couldn't help but smile at that. That description sounded far too familiar. So he finished his sentence. "So he comes across as rather over-protective and territorial?"

Alfred almost smirked. "Precisely, I'm afraid. Master Richard can also be somewhat violent when provoked. Especially when he considers someone a threat."

A picture began to take form in Bruce's mind. And it wasn't a pretty one. "So Dick was against my relationship with Selina, he thought she was going to hurt me?"

"He had good reason of course." Alfred explained. "You're first spouse, while I beleive she was good deep down, she wasn't always what she appeared. Your daughter doesn't know this, but early on in your relationship, Ms. Kyle stole millions of dollars from the company. Not to mention she used your status and influence in the city to conduct many other crimes. You forgave her..." 

When Alfred didn't continue, Bruce said what was currently unspoken. "But Dick never did."

Alfred nodded.

And before Bruce could fully dwell on the thought, Alfred got up from his chair and gestured for Bruce to do the same.

"Come along, we can't brood down here all day. There's still work to be done. For me at least, there's only one day until the Gala."

Alfred looked his son up and down before dryly continueing. "I suggest you find your daughter and ensure she's completed her school work. Though I will warn you: with everything going on, I believe Ms. Helena will be rather... testy today to say the least."

"Nothing I haven't seen before." Bruce said with a nod. 

If Helena was anything like his own kids, he knew she would be stuborn and reluctant when it came to the things she needed help with. Far too much like himself.

And though he knew what he was walking into, when he finally arrived in the library, he still hadn't been fully prepared. 

In the hour the girl had been by herself, she had gotten absolutely no work done. Instead she had chosen to read a book and left her assignments scattered across the floor. 

And it had taken all of Bruce's stern Dad-voice to get his daughter to pick up all her papers and do her work. 

When Helena complained that the math was too hard, Bruce thought it would be a good idea to work on that last. Thats what usually happened when he worked on cases, when he looked too hard on one difficut case it was all he could focus on and nothing else got done. They breezed though all of her reading, writing, spelling, even her science. And then they were left with only the mathwork. Bruce hoped that since they were able to work through everything else, the mathwork would be just as easy. How hard could times tables be?

An hour and a half.

Just a full hour and a half of explaining and re-explaining how multiplication worked. 

And regularly being interrupted by fits and stomping around the library. Regularly having to pause so Helena could calm down before having a full-blown tantrum.

The biggest issues seemed to be that Helena did not memorize any of her times tables; and didn't know why she had to. She was also greatly confused at how both 2x2 and 2+2 could equal 4, and yet no other problems did this. And the fact that her Mother would not be present for any of the holidays still genuinly upset the girl.

But no matter how Bruce tried to explain any of these things, he couldn't help her understand. There was a disconnect between them and Bruce didn't know how to bridge that gap.

"Hey Bruce, can we talk?"

Bruce turned and saw Bette lingering by the library entrance. Very much awake. She was trying to seem natural, but Bruce couldn't help but notice how her folded arms looked more like she was hugging herself.

"Yeah Bette, be right there." Bruce replied before turning back to his daughter.

"I'm gonna go talk to my cousin. But I'll be right back, ok?"

Helena just pouted in a way that reminded Bruce far too much of Damien, and himself.

"Keep working on your problems. I mean it, young lady."

Helena glared and said nothing. Then continued to stare down at her worksheets as if that would make the answers magically appear.

Deciding to take a slight loss, Bruce got up and went over to Bette.

Bette frowned, glancing back at her second cousin who continued to sulk at the table. "I'm sorry dude, is this a bad time? I can always come back later if you're busy-"

"It's no worry." Bruce was quick to say. "I think we both needed a little break. Who knew times tables could be so tricky, huh?"

"Yeah, uh, those are no fun." Bette said with a shrug.

There was an awkward pause after that. Neither of them not wanting to speak next. It seemed like Bruce was always a little awkward around Bette, no matter what universe they were in, he assumed. They were cousins but had such a large age gap between eachother; not to mention the fact that Bruce was rather distant compared to how close all the other Kane cousins were. At least, that was how Bruce had always perceived it.

Bruce did his best to try and restart the conversation though. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

Before answering, Bette glanced down the hall in both directions. Trying to see if anyone could be in potential ear shot.

"It's about Kate." She sighed, as if saying the words out loud ment defeat.

Whatever Bruce had been expecting Bette to say, it certainly wasn't that.

"What's wrong?"

Bette didn't answer immedietly, trying to build up more courage to continue. She took a deep breath, steeling herself. And when she finally answered Bruce could feel a pit forming in his stomach.

"I'm sorry Bruce, I really am. But- I can't keep living with Kate. I know I promised you and Uncle Jacob I'd keep an eye on her but I just can't do it anymore."

Bruce wasn't even sure how to respond to that. What exactly had the other version of himself asked her to do? The pit in his stomach continued to grow.

"What happened?"

Bette looked down at her hands. "She was ok in the beginning. I think she was really happy when I agreed to live with her in Bludhaven... But she's getting bad again..."

"How so?"

For a moment Bette's nervousness turned to an anger Bruce had never seen in the girl before. "What do you think!? For starters she's never home. I'm always stuck in the apartment by myself. She doesn't even come home most nights! And when she is home, she acts like I'm not even there. Unless god-forbid I left a dish in the sink. All it takes is one small thing. Then she's going around the kitchen breaking shit. It's like she has some switch that flips."

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know she was treating you that way." Bruce said, but he couldn't help but cringe, even to him that sounded very dumb.

Bette continued. "And a surprise to no one, her girlfriend broke up with her. Again. But this time I think she means it... She caught Kate cheating on her. Or something, like that. And Kate's been unbearable ever since, acting like a complete asshole. And any time I try to bring any of this up she treats it like it's her ex's fault, or my fault!"

After a few moments, Bette's rage seemed to boil over into something much sadder. "And I was supposed to be taking online classes while I was living with her. But I've been so stressed out I ... I flunked out of all my classes and just dropped out."

Bruce extended out a hand, and had little time to prepare when Bette tackled him in a hug.

"I know we're all cousins, and we're supposed to look out for eachother, but... I can't keep living with her. Not when she's like this. But I- I don't know what to do now. I can't go back to school. And I can't go home. But I can't stay with Kate much longer."

While Bruce hugged Bette tightly, he felt like he was adrift from everything going on.

What would the Bruce in this world say? Especially if he was the one to suggest she live with their cousin. It also hurt to think the other version of him at put his baby cousin in a potentially-dangerous situation. If Kate was really as tempermental and unstable as Bette said...

"Of course you can stay here at the manor." Bruce said, "I'm so proud of you for trying to bond with Kate, but if it isn't working you're more than welcome here. And you always will be."

At those words it was like a thorn had been pulled out of the girl and her shoulders sank a little in releif. "Thanks Bruce."

"And I'm sure we can get you enrolled at GU for next semester. Jason and Duke are there I'm sure they'd be glad to show you around. If that's something you'd like, of course."

"I'lll uh, I'll think about that. Things have been kinda crazy. I'm not sure if I'm ready to just, dive back into all that." Bette replied.

"That's understandable."

Bruce only hoped that once he returned to his original universe, the other Bruce would feel the same way. He'd hate it if he was accidentally setting his younger cousin up for disapointment. 

Then again, Bruce still had no idea how to get out of this alternate universe. Alfred seemed convinced only Dick would be able to help them but the boy had yet to return home. 

Until then, Bruce just had to continue doing his best to keep his family together, even if it was some warped version of it from another world.

When Bette spoke up again it pulled Bruce out of his thoughts. 

"I haven't told Kate I'm moving out yet... You promise not to tell her right?"

Bruce knew Bette wouldn't like his answer, but he had to go with his gut instinct.

"I'm sorry but I can't make that promise. Leave Kate to me, I want to talk to her. Later."

Bette shook her head while lightly pulling out of Bruce's hug. "You're always picking up after everyone else."

"It's what family does."

"It's what family is supposed to do." Bette added bitterly.

Before Bette could walk away Bruce got an idea. "Why don't you help me with Helena's worksheet? I've been trying to help her with it all morning but she's just not getting it. Maybe you can get more on her level."

Bette looked perplexed, but after a moment shurgged. "Sure, why not."

Togehter, they both walked back into the library.

"Hey Hellspawn!" Bette teased her second cousin. "Heard you don't like times tables!"

Thankfully, Bruce's hunch turned out to be correct. And after collecting every pen in the library, she was able to show Helena the difference between addition and multiplcation. 

Working together, they helped Helena with the rest of her work until Alfred stopped by, announcing that lunch was ready.

Since the rest of the kids weren't home, lunch was a small affair. Just Alfred, Helena, Bette and himself sitting around the kitchen counter. 

As they ate Bruce couldn't help but think about everything he'd learned so far... 

Kate had ruined her relationship with Bette, and Selina had greatly strained her relationship with their daughter. Thinking about Selina hurt too much, thinking that they had the kind of relationship he'd always dreamed of, only to have it utterly fail.

Thinking about Dick was much more perplexing. Apperently the boy was much less bright and hopeful than the son he knew at home. Not to mention he apperently had been apart of the fallout between himself and his now ex-wife. But this strange version of Dick was one of his only oppertunities for getting home. Or at least that had been Alfred's opinion, Bruce didn't want to think about what would happen if Alfred was wrong...

Suddenly Bruce felt a pain in his stomach. It was like the pit from early had come back in full force. But much stronger. Bruce's breathing began to pick up. His heart fluttered. 

"Bruce, you ok?" Bette asked, looking over. "You're not looking good."

Helena looked over when Bette pointed it out. And her face became pinched with worry. "Dad?"

Before he could say anything, Bruce felt Alfred grabbing him by the arm and ushering him into the next room.

"Your father is fine my dear." Alfred said quickly. "You girls finish your lunch. Master Bruce and I are just going to get some fresh air. We'll be right back."

When they were out of earshot, Alfred sat Bruce down in a chair and pulled something out of his pocket. 

"Calm your breathing." He heard Alfred say. "Your going to give yourself a panic attack."

And when a looked up, he saw a small xanax in the palm of his hand. 

Struggling to keep his breath calm and steady, Bruce tried to say, "How did you-"

But Alfred quickly interrupted him. "I've known you your whole life, Master Bruce. I know when you're about to be overwhellmed." He raised an eyebrow as he continued. "And given your earlier reluctance to take your medicine I feared this might happen sooner or later."

Bruce took the tablet along with a glass of water he hadn't seen Alfred take with them. And under the butler's careful watch, he swallowed the xanax. After a few moments he began to feel the fluttering in his chest calm down. Though the pit in his stomach stayed.

But Alfred seemed appeased, offering a hand to help Bruce up. 

"Next time try to take that earlier so you aren't left on the brink of a mealtdown." Alfred lectured.

Mealtdown? Bruce frowned. "But I wasn't even that stressed out today. I only had a few problems."

"Everyone has a different threshold when it comes to handling pressure..." Alfred said gently.

That only made Bruce frown more. Exactly how low was his threshold in this universe?

Just then, a bell rang through the entire manor, and in an instant Bruce was left doubled over, loosing control of his breath all over again.

He felt a hand gently rub at his shoulders. "I have to answer the door. Stay here. Just breath."

Bruce could hear Alfred's shoes click on the floor as he quickly walked away.

A doorbell? Just a doorbell had been enough to make him loose it? Bruce couldn't understand why this was so difficult. Every night he dealt with high-stake issues, literal do-or-die situations on a regular basis. And yet all it took was a little family-stress to send this world's Bruce overboard?

Annoyed, Bruce just kept his head rested on his knees and tried to get his breathing to calm down. Again. 

In the distance he heard the front doors open and Helena cheer as someone came through the doors. Apperently Papa was home. His husband. Jack...

He heard their voice and his blood went cold.   
He hadn't been told who his husband was, not exactly. But he had enough peices together to figure it out. An unnamed man. All the colors. The ridiculous silk pajamas. But hearing that voice changed everything. It suddenly made everything realer.

Eventually Bruce heard two sets of shoes heading his way. But he couldn't bring himself to look up. Not yet. 

Someone stood directly next to him. And a hand rested on his shoulder. One that wasn't Alfed's. 

And then that voice was whispering in his ear. 

"Oh Bruce," They murmered softly. "I'm sorry I couldn't be here sooner."

When Bruce finally did look up, he found himself face to face with the Joker.

But at the same time, it wasn't quite the Joker. 

For starters his infamous green hair was covered in a technicolor rainbow of different dyes. Though this close, Bruce could still see the man's green roots peeking through in a few spots. And instead of his purple suit he was wearing what looked like the middle ground between a patch-work quilt and trenchcoat. A long jacket hung off his shoulders that was made from a plethora of different fabrics and colors. 

And then there was his eyes. They held this sort of gentleness he'd never seen in the man before. 

"There he is." Joker, Jack actually, cooed. And he moved his hand to cup his cheek. "How are you feeling?"

The strangest thing was the fact that his breathing actually had calmed down. And that pit in his stomach melted away. He felt... safe. 

He'd never felt safe around Joker. Ever.

"I've been better." Bruce said honeslty after a few momements.

When Jack pulled his hand away, Bruce found himself missing that feeling.

"Are you hungry?" Alfred asked.

"Famished actually!" Jack said.

"We just had lunch, let me prepare you something."

"Like I'd ever say no to your food." Jack teased. "Especially after dealing with 5 hours of crappy plane food."

Together, they all followed Alfred back to the kitchen. 

As they went though, Bruce almost tripped when he felt Jack grabbed his hand, then move to hold him before he stumbled. His hands were freezing. Much like they were back in his world. But when he leaned over to be closer to him, Bruce felt Jack's warm breath pepper his neck and cheek.

"I'm glad to be back. I missed you."

"I missed you too." Bruce said before he stopped himself. Like a muscle memory had been activated he couldn't stop.

Thankfully though that had been the right answer. Jack grinned and hugged him tighter as they walked.

And for the rest of the day, Jack seemed to stay right there at his side. Even as day turned to night and the family gathered to sing and pray and light another candle on the menorah. 

"This week's gonna be great." Jack whispered into his ears. "I can just tell!"

And though never before did he ever agree with Joker. He hoped this time that Jack was right.


	5. The Third Night of Hanukkah (and Christmas Eve)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my goodness! If I didn't have at least one update for Hanukkah I don't know what I'd do! Lol
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this latest chapter. I hope you all have a Happy Hanukkah and Happy Holidays!
> 
> (PS sorry for any major typos/grammar issues, I need to go back through and edit this chapter)

All night Bruce felt like he was holding his breath.

Everyone else seemed fine around the Joker. And even Bruce's own body felt at ease around him. But Bruce's mind couldn't seem to trust "Jack" so quickly. Not after everything the madman had done in his original world.

So he kept on waiting for the second shoe to drop. Half-expecting Joker to reveal his trick. Or to spring some minacal trap on Bruce and his family. 

At night they slept in the master bedroom. Side by side. Wearing those rediculous matching silk pajamas. And for several hours, Bruce was wide awake. Breathing softly and slowly as not to wake up Jack. 

And as the night drew longer, nothing continued to happen. Bruce began to slowly beleive that this Jack Wayne was not the joker. Or at least if he use to be the Joker, something major must have changed the man...

Eventually his body's trust and exhaustion won over. He fell asleep being hugged by the not-so-madman.

And when morning came he discovered the Joker still hadn't done anything terrible. 

But with that, a more concerning thought stole Bruce's focus.

On the 3rd morning of Hanukkah, the morning before Christmas day, they were still waiting for Dick to arrive. 

For someone who had promised to be there for the holidays, he was suprisingly absent. 

And while Bruce tried to ignore it, he couldn't stop from feeling annoyed. Where was Dick? Jack's flight had been delayed around the same time as Richard's and yet he managed to get here. What was keeping Dick away?

While Bruce hated it, he found himself doubting if Dick's flight really had been delayed. Perhapse something else was going on. 

If Dick was the only active vigilante in the family, he could very easily be lying about his whereabouts. After all, that's what Bruce would do. And he'd even do it when his whole family were professional crimefighters. He couldn't help but wonder how much his son was keeping away from this civilian-version of his family as well as himself. 

And if Dick didn't arrive soon, how much longer would Bruce have to masquerade as this alternate version of himself? Surely his kids and literal-husband would realize he wasn't the man they thought he was. And the longer he stayed here the more risky this all would become...

If Alfred knew the true wherabouts of his son, he wouldn't say. And when Bruce tried to ask he'd simply say Master Richard's flight experienced multiple delays. Just like Selina couldn't visit due to being in Milan. Quick answers ment to pacify.

At least no one else seemed suspiscious, of him or Dick. They were annoyed, but no one asked too many questions. 

Though Jason seemed more sarcastic than normal. 

In the morning the family gathered for yet another delicious breakfast. Bruce watched as everyone sat down. But the room felt distictivly different than from the morning before. 

For one, Bette now purposefully sat further away from Kate. Already trying to distance herself from her cousin.

Jack, the Joker, was now sitting adoringly at his own side.

But oddest of all, Jason and Jack sat side by side. Jason elbowed the man as they ate.

"Crazy luck huh?" Jason commented dryly. "You and Dick were in the same city, same airport, and only you got a flight out."

Jack raised an eyebrow, but shrugged his shoulders. "What can I say? First class pays."

But Jason didn't seem appeased. "You guys were in the same city, and never even saw eachother?"

Jack smiled back slyly. Like they were both in on some inside joke. "Oh you know your big brother... Always doing god-knows-what."

It was so weird seeing the two interact. In his world they were absolute enemies. Loathing eachother more than Bruce could ever comprehend. And yet here in this world, they were sitting together. Chatting away like old friends. They were clearly close. Closer than this-version of Jason even seemed with Bruce. 

Bruce was pulled from his thoughts when his husband and second-oldest turned their attention onto him. 

"I can't tell whose disapointing me more," Jason said in a teasing tone. "Dick or you, Bruce."

Bruce looked at Jason in shock. Had he given himself away?

Jack began to cackle with laughter. "Oh Bruce, your face! You look like someone kicked your puppy!"

"What did I do?" Bruce asked. He'd had been trying so hard to be inconspicuous, what had he done wrong?

"I really thought you were gonna make it to the end of the year." Jason replied. "But I guess you couldn't stick with your resolution."

"Yeah!" Jean-Paul added. "At New Years, you swore off black clothes for a full year. We were all there for that."

Looking down, Bruce realized he'd put on a black turtleneck sweater. It was one of his favorite peices of clothing. He'd grabbed it on instinct.

"I wasn't gonna say anything." Jack added, somehow being both kind and condescending. "But I was wondering what made you fall off the technicolor-wagon, hun."

Before Bruce could reply, Alfred came from behind him and set a tray of mugs on the table. "Master Bruce has been under a great deal of pressure lately. He hasn't been quite himself."

"Oh yeah poor Mister Wayne." Jason teased. "You must have it so hard, being the richest man in Gotham."

"And don't forget, sexiest man in Gotham, six times running." Jack added with a flirty wink. "I know I don't."

"Ewww! Stop being gross!" Helena shouted, hiding her face in her hands.

"What?" Jack asked, playing dumb. "I can't tell my husband how pretty he is? Even if he is dressed like a conservative witch?"

Bruce felt shy under so much attention. "If you like I can go change."

Jack's eyes lit up as he jumped up from his seat. "Yes! Let's get you in something much more festive!"

Dragging Bruce along, Jack pulled Bruce out to the hall. As they left, Bruce caught Alfred staring at him intently. A silent warning. 

Once they were alone in the hall, Jack seemed to relax more. Like a string had been cut in the man. As they walked to their room, Bruce could feel the other man staring at him intently. "I was meaning to ask, how are you feeling darling?"

"Fine." Bruce said quickly.

"Fine?" Jack asked.

"As fine as I can, I geuss." Bruce replied. The best always had an element if truth, so he added, "I offered to let Bette stay with us for a while. She and Kate... Things aren't going well between them."

Jack hummed a little before tugging Bruce closer to his side. "That's a shame. More plucky youngsters for us then!"

"I still need to talk to Kate." Bruce explained. "She needs to know soon, and she needs to know why Bette can't live with her anymore."

"Well, good luck with that." Jack replied gently, but he didn't seem as enthusiastic as he was before. "You know how your family can get, red-hot tempers and all."

"I do." Bruce replied. Even across dimensions, somethings were still the same...

The pit in his stomach returned.

After some pleading, teasing, and bribery, Jack got Bruce to change into a purple sweater with yellow and white candles stitched onto the arms and chest. It was an eye-strain but at least this one didn't have blinking lights and music. 

By the time they got back however, breakfest was wrapping up and people began milling about the manor. He saw Kate get up and mention she was going for a run around the Wayne estate.

Now was his chance.

As Kate went outside, Bruce followed after her. 

"Hey Kate," Bruce called out. "Can we talk?"

His cousin spun around, somewhat suprised to see Bruce there. "Yeah? What's up?"

Bruce made his way closer to Kate. It seemed like the closer he got the more his body tried to freakout on him. He forced himself to breath deeply before continuing. 

"Bette... She told me how you've been acting."

Kate immedietly scoffed, shaking her head. "Bette's over-reacting. I'm fine."

"Have you two been fighing?" 

"What family doesn't fight?" Kate asked. "I'm sure the fights between you and your kids are much worse."

Bruce refused to let himself be swayed. "She said you would go into violent fits and break things."

"That was like one time." Kate replied. "And I didn't even break anything important. She just freaked out."

"She's staying with me from now on."

That immedietly changed Kate attitude. Before she was dismissive, but now he had Kate's full attention.

"What?"

Normally Bruce was fine during confrontations. But now as Kate glared at him, Bruce swore he felt himself shrink.

But he refused to back down. "You heard me. After Hannukah's over Bette will be staying with me."

"Bette would never-"

"She's already agreed." Bruce said. "I'm sorry Kate. But I had no other-"

He was immedietly cut off by a pair of hands shoving him backwards. 

"I swear to god, you always have to meddle!" Kate glowered. "You can never leave good-enough alone! Kate and I were fine!"

Bruce badly wanted to tell her the truth. Explain how this was what Bette wanted. Tell Kate everything Bette had told her. But he refused to throw his younger cousin under the bus. 

Kate kept going, stepping closer to Bruce until he had to start backing away.

"You ruin everything! You ruined things with Dick and Selina! Now you're trying to ruin my life and Bette's? God, you think you're helping people but you just make everything worse!" 

His heart felt like it was about to beat out of his chest. 

"I'm sorry Kate-" Bruce tried to say.

But a sock to the jaw interrupted him.

Doubling over, Bruce cradled his cheek in his hands. Why did this hurt so much? Kate must have struck an odd-nerve because his whole face felt like it was on fire.

And when he looked up. Kate was stomping away. Heading toward the woods.

"Good heavens!" Someone shouted.

Bruce turned to see most of the family by the backdoors. So much for trying to have privacy. 

Jack immedietly went over to Bruce, looking over his face carefully. "Are you alright?"

Bruce tried to reply but his jaw ached. "M'ok. Just got suckerpunched."

"I'm gonna go talk to her!" Jean-Paul shouted. Already running after Kate.

Alfred followed the pair a few steps, tracking them carefully with his eyes as they dissapeared into the woods.

Jason seemed much more annoyed, turning to Duke before giving Bruce a stern look. "Sorry you had to see that, my family's completely insane."

"Trust me, it's nothing I haven't seen before..." Duke replied, seeming rather uncomfortable with the whole situation.

Bette didn't say anything, but there was a clear amount of guilt on her face.

Helena seemed the most upset out of everyone. Hiding with Bette and Duke by the door. "Is Aunt Kate gonna be ok?"

"She'll be ok." Bette replied. "When she gets like this she just has to blow off some steam."

Jack took control of the situation, coralling the rest of the family back inside. "Ok people show's over! Everyone back inside! And someone get me some ice!"

For a moment, Bruce was overwhellmed as Jack pushed him into a kitchen chair and several ice packs were shoved into his face. 

Jack chose one and pressed it to his cheek. Periodically pulling it away to check on the swelling.

Eventually Jack clicked his teeth. "Oh that's definetly gonna bruise, Bruce. But look on the bright side, now we get to contour your face for tonight!"

"Tonight?"

"The Gala, silly-billy!" Jack exclaimed.

"The Christmas Eve Gala? It's the biggest charity night in Gotham." Duke replied.

"And you've been planning it for eight months." Jason added dryly.

"Oh," Thankfully that sounded similar to the christmas gala he had been planning in his own universe. Bruce tried to play-off his forgetfullness. "Yes. How could I forget? Kate must have hit me harder than I thought."

"Bruce, I'm so sorry!" 

When Bruce looked over, he saw Bette sitting on the kitchen counter, head in her hands. 

"This is all my fault! I shouldn't have said anything."

"It's ok." Bruce said. "You did nothing wrong, Bette."

"It's been really hard living with her. But I shouldn't just abandon her like this."

"Yeah," Jason agreed. "Just because Kate's being a dick doesn't mean you have to put up with her."

"And you're not abandoning her." Bruce clarified. "She'll come around when she's ready. For now though, you're welcome here as long as you like."

"Is Kate gonna be banned from the house now too?" 

Everyone turned to see Helena. Squeezing an ice pack inbetween her hands and refusing to look up.

"Of course not. Why, why would you think that?" Jack asked.

"Well, after You and Mom and Dick got into a fight she was banished from the house. Right?" Helena said stiffly.

"Nobody's banished from house." Bruce replied. Hoping he and this-world's Bruce truly were on the same page. "You mother and I just need some space."

"Three years worth of space." He heard Jason mutter under his breath.

"But I'm sure Kate and I will be able to settle our differences." Bruce finished. "Ok?"

Helena nodded. "Ok."

Bruce's phone buzzed in his pocket. He saw a text from Jean-Paul.

_**We're still in Gotham. Don't expect us at the party tonight. Kate's got shit to work out.** _

Bruce sighed heavily through his nose, trying to keep his breathing under control. At least he was getting the brunt of Kate's rage instead of Bette, he reminded himself.

"You need to go take something?" Jack asked lowly so none of the kids heard. 

"Yeah, I'll be right back." Bruce replied. Shuffling out of the room, ice pack still held to his cheek.

As he went back to his room, and pulled out the medicine. Bruce did his best to remind him that people took prescriptions when they needed it. Bruce always took painkillers when he was badly hurt. Or cough syrup when he had the flu. This was no different. Taking medicine didn't make anyone weaker.

Slowly the xanax began to work, easing that tension that had been gripping his chest and guts. Maybe he should consider taking xanax when he got back? He didn't have anxiety-attacks as often in his world, but when he did they were always so miserable, impossible to manage on his own.

Luckily for the rest of the day, his xanax did it's job and kept nerves from taking over his mind and body. Though it certainly tried, after Kate had stormed away the whole household seemed on edge. 

Hardly the Christmas Eve-energy Bruce had been hoping for. 

As the day continued, Kate had yet to return. And besides his initial text, Jean-Paul had gone quiet after leaving.

And Dick was still completely absent.

Eventually Alfred gave the family an answer. Dick's flight would land in several hours and he'd meet them all at the gala.

Bruce just had to hold on until then. 

He barely knew anything about this alternate-bruce. But he clearly planned things well in advanced, and Bruce was very greatful for that. Preperations for the Gala handled themselves for the most part, all Bruce had to do was give a few minor directions and confirmations.

It didn't hurt that the Gala set up was very similar to his own.

Though there were a few key difference.

The Christmas Eve Charity Gala would be hosted in the Gotham Museum Modern Art. In his own world, it was traditional for the Gala to be held in Wayne Manor. But Bruce had to admit he liked the seperation this version of the Gala provided, it allowed the manor to be a more private space. Where his family could gather to celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas in peace.

Also this year, Bruce had descided Jason would put his english degree to work and he'd be giving the Christmas Charity speech instead. And though Jason snarked about it, Bruce could tell his son was both nervous and excited to give his talk.

So all in all, this-Bruce had done everything possible to put less strain on himself. Making the holiday as stress-free as possible.

And yet Bruce still managed to stress himself out. 

As the sun set, the family gathered to pray and light the menorah. Kate and Jean-Paul's absence felt palpable in the room. 

This could be the last time Bruce celebrated with this alternate-version of his family. And the mood couldn't be more bitter. Bruce only hoped that once they were sent back to their proper universes this-world's Bruce would know what to do to fix things between Kate and the family.

As the starting time for the Gala drew nearer, the family began to get dressed. 

And of course, Jack had a full suit prepared for his husband. 

A bright, cherry red tuxedo. Paired with pure white pants. And complete with golden trim, buttons and cufflinks. Bruce cringed at himself when he looked in the mirror. 

"I look like a nutcracker." Bruce couldn't help but say.

"The sexiest nutcracker in all of Gotham!" Jack teased. "Now sit down so I can fix your hair."

For over an hour Bruce had been patient as Jack insisted on doing his nails, helping him dress, contouring his face to hide his bruises. And now his hair. Bruce felt like a doll under his spouse's care.

At least they weren't in matching suits. Jack had chosen a pale blue suit adorned in white snowflakes for himself. And combed back his rainbow hair so every uniquly-colored strand was visible.

"You've been awfully quiet." Jack asked. Frowning down at Bruce as he combed his hair. "Worried about tonight, darling?"

"No, not really."

"About Kate then?" Jack asked next. "You know she'll come around she just needs some time."

Bruce descided to be honest. "I wished I handled that better... But it's more than that. We'll be seeing Dick soon, finally."

"It'll be fine." Jack soothed. "I know Dick isn't as easy as Jason or Helena were. But he's still your kiddo and I know he cares about this family. Even if he doesn't show it."

Bruce couldn't help but smile fondly at that. "That sounds more like Damian to me."

All it took was two words to send Bruce's entire world crashing down. 

"Whose Damian?"

Bruce turned to see complete confusion in his husbands eyes. 

And all at once it clicked. 

Sprinting to the bathroom, Bruce locked the door behind him and stared wildly around. His breathing was out of control. He could hear someone pounding on the door. The lights were all too bright.

A knife was twisting in his heart.

Of course. It made sense. The logical side of his mind continued to connect the dots. 

He never became a vigilante. He never had to train. He never trained under Ra's al Ghul. He never met Talia... of course Damian wouldn't exist. He wasn't here, and probably never would. 

But no matter how much logic he threw at himself, it did nothing to stop the aching in his chest. 

How could he have been so stupid? How had he not realized this sooner? How could he be so selfish?

When the pounding was replaced by a stern voice, Bruce finally turned to look at the door. 

"Master Bruce, open this door. Now."

Scrambling up, Bruce opened the door. Alfred stepped into the room and locked the door behind him.

"What the hell happened?" Alfred hissed. "What are you going on about. Some boy named Damian?"

"I'm sorry." Bruce really was. "He's my son in my world. And he doesn't exist here. I never met his mother, Talia."

"Talia?" Alfred asked, but he quickly changed the subject. "That doesn't matter now. What matters now is your hysterical husband who thinks his partner's gone mad. You better come up with an excuse and fast."

Shit. Alfred was right. "Is there any part of my day job where I talk to kids?"

An idea began to form in Alfred's head. "Yes, you recently organized a toy-drive for the local children's hospital. I'll tell Master Jack this Damian-boy was one of the children there in icu."

"Alfred wait-" 

But Alfred was already out the door. "Put yourself together. Do whatever you must, Master Bruce. All I ask of you is to keep this charade up for a few more hours. Then things will all go back to normal. You can see your son again."

And with that, Alfred was gone, and Jack was quickly hurrying into the room.

It was still so strange to see compassion and worry painted clearly on the Joker's face.

"Alfred told me everything!" Jack said. "I'm so sorry Bruce, I know seeing the kids like that is hard on you. I bet Damian is a great kid."

"He is." Bruce replied. All lies had a little bit of truth in them. Bruce felt horrible.

After a bit more grooming, Jack had both Bruce and himself ready for the gala. 

Together the family drove in a limo to the event. Everyone dressed in the best christmas apparel. Chatting lightly despite the odd tension surrounding the family.

But Bruce couldn't help but see all the absent seats in the car. Kate, Jean-Paul, Dick...

Damian...

He just kept reminding himself that in a few more hours, he'd finally meet this-world's Dick and they'd finally figure out a way to get him home.

He just had to hold on for a little bit longer...

As they fianlly arrived to the Charity Gala, Bruce was overwhellmed by the sheer amount of red, white and green adorning the Museum.

However, in the flood of black suits and burgandy dresses, the Wayne family popped with color. And Bruce especially.

As the family got out of their limo, all heads turned to look at them. Cameras flashed.

And despite everything, Bruce was able to give them a bright, utterly-fake smile. 

"They love it!" Jack whispered into his ear as they walked to the main doors. 

Once inside the family began to disperse.

"Well, time to go guilt-trip a bunch of rich, old people!" Jason said, looking through his speech-notes one more time. "If they even bother paying attention to me."

"I'm sure you'll do wonderful." Bruce replied while patting his son's shoulder.

Jason looked over a Bruce, quickly shrugging off his hand. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. See you freaks later."

Duke followed after Jason, still looking somewhat out of his element. And Bette began to mingle through the room, chatting with different guests and asking if they'd donated yet.

"Let's go hit the buffet table!" Jack said his Husband and daughter. "After all, that's the best thing about these ritzy digs!"

While Helena cheered, Bruce stepped back. "Why don't you two go ahead?" He offered. "I have to go talk with someone."

"Alright, it's your party!" Jack said teasingly, before kissing Bruce on the cheek. "Ta ta!"

"Bye..." Bruce said softly.

Bruce watched them leave before beginging his mission. Dick said he would meet them here. Actually Alfred had said that Dick said. He hoped he was telling the truth. Bruce didn't know what he'd do if Dick's flight had any more delays.

Anxiously, Bruce scanned through the crowds. Looking for any sign of his eldest son. All while pretending nothing was wrong.

Finally, a half-hour later, Bruce saw him.

He was walking through the main entrance, smiling wide for several cameras.

And Tim Drake of all people was with him.

Bruce hurried over to his son.

When Dick saw Bruce coming, he quickly took a glass from a nearby server and downed a drink.

"Bruce!" Dick said in a forced-cheerful voice. "How's it going? It's been too long! Oh, and this guy here is Tim. He's one of my best and brightest."

"How do you do, Mr. Wayne?" Tim replied, shaking Bruce's hand politely.

He'd never met Tim until this point? Bruce didn't have time to reflect on that thought though.

"It's a pleasure to meet you son." Bruce said to Tim before turning to his older son, "Dick, can we talk in private. It's somewhat urgent."

Bruce caught his son rolling his eyes. "It's always something. Can't we just have a fun night? Is that too much to ask?"

Bruce was taken back. He was use to getting a lot of back-sass from his kids, but not from Dick. At least, not sense the boy was a teenager and they had a falling-out. And yet here Dick was as a full-grown adult, acting as if Bruce was the biggest annoyance in his life.

"Well this is serious." Bruce tried to say.

"I imagine to you it must be." Dick argued back. "I can garuntee whatever's going on here is nothing compared to the crap I just walked away from. Unlike you, some of us have to deal with actual problems."

An anger was bubbling up in Bruce. Did this version of Dick not respect him at all?

"So what is it now? What new disaster is about to destroy Gotham if I don't do something, right now?" Dick asked, not seeming to care what Bruce said next.

Bruce tried to cement himself. Speaking with more sterness than he normally would use in a public setting. "We'll speak in private, Richard."

Bruce went to grab Dick's hand.

And that's when disaster struck.

Just as Jason prepared to give his speech, bombs full of green and red smoke crashed through the windows. Quickly followed by thick vines. Some even began entangling guests.

People began screaming and scrambling through the halls. But there was no escape, vines grew over all the exits.

So this Gotham did have rouges.

"Oh, I guess it was serious." Dick said, more to himself than anyone. Before turning to Bruce. "Stay here. Me and Tim will handle this."

And before he could stop them, both boys were sprinting towards the nearest hiding place. No doubt they were going to find somewhere to change into their vigilante personas. 

In the meantime though, Bruce watched as vines tried to capture Jason. 

Ignoring Dick's orders he rushed to his son.  
But Duke beat him to the punch. 

The boy roughly dragged Jason off the stage. And tgether the stumbled away, looking around the hall in confusion. They both looked panicked. Like they had no idea what to do next. 

The clouds of smoke got thicker. Soon all Bruce could see was a hazy outline of his sons before they faded away all together.

"Poor Bruce Wayne." A mocking voice said.

Harvey's voice.

Bruce spun around but couldn't see his friend anywhere.

"Looks like we ruined your party. But don't worry, my friends will make sure everyone here makes a proper donation."

"Harvey?" Bruce snapped. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Harvey?" The man sneered. "Oh Bruce, you know I haven't been Harvey for a long time..."

All too late, Bruce sensed Harvey sneak up behind him. But he was too slow to react. 

He felt the man pin his arms to his sides. And a needle was stabbed into his neck.

Almost immedietly the drug began to effect Bruce. Much quicker than normal. His vision went hazy and his knees went weak. And despite the rapid beat of his heart, he could feel the rest of his body slowing down.

When the man picked him up, he finally caught sight of his former-friend.

It wasn't Harvey. It wasn't even Two-Face.

The look in his eyes was one of absolute wrath. 

And his entire face was deformed by acid.

There was no middle line. Not even a glimmer of the Harvey Dent he once knew.

Then everything went dark.


End file.
